Q & R 1

Who’s fault is it when a student entering college still does not know how to write a paper correctly?

For twelve years we as students learn our abc’s all the way to writing reports and essays. Who should we credit for this accomplishment, teachers or ourselves? Who should we blame if it is not achieved again teachers or ourselves? Every student has different needs when it comes to writing. In my opinion English like any other subject can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools and skills that are needed to perfect this art. D & W state that our field does not know what genre and tasks will help the student in the myriad writing situations they will later find themselves in. What does this mean in plain English? Well teachers can teach us students the fundamentals that will be needed to get by, but it is up to the student to have the desire to be satisfied with just the basics or want more. English is a art just like anything else and each individual has his or her way of approaching it. No teacher wants to see a student fail that is why they have the courage to be the one that will put the student on the right path. I personally English is my weakness in the sense that my structuring and referencing ideas needs to be better organized. I don’t blame the teachers, they did their job fine and I did ok but sometimes ok isn’t just enough.

Tomorrow Class

Hi Students,

I am not able to make the class tomorrow for a personal reason. There will be another Professor to come and work with you. Her name is Regine Pellicer.

I have posted the Agenda for the class. For the homework of June 9, make sure to include citation in your writing. Check out the guidelines under "HANDOUTS", titled "inserting direct and indirect quotes".

See you again on Thursday. Sorry for this late notice. Let me know if you have any questions.

TP

How come people cannot speak as complex as well as they write?

I feel that people nowadays are lazier than ever when it comes to define and accurate terminology. Speaking in one way, to communicating, and the other, speaking ones heart, thus, using different vocabulary to express themselves. Speaking though, is so much different to writing because, we take our time to think about the subject. When we speak, we speak slang, cutting off full words and use its abbreviations, people do understand its meaning, but it’s not proper.

Q&R 1

Why is it important for the writer to have prior knowledge for what they are writing about?

In the article, it says that the more the writer knows about something, the more he or she will know about that certain subject and therefore write better and have a better understanding on it. Personally, I think that to be true. It would be extremely difficult for a person to write about something without having some type of prior knowledge to whatever it is that the subject pertains to. In other words, if a student is asked to write about writing studies, it is more than likely that he/she will write better if they know about what they are writing about. If the student is an “expert” in the subject, the writing will be better and therefore, the reader will understand what the reader is trying to say. It is also a better thing for the reader because like I mentioned, they will better grasp the content of the writing. Overall, I agree with this. The writer needs to know what he/she is writing and the reader needs to comprehend what he/she is reading.

Jose Barrera

Are writing and reading conversations?

When you get involved in a conversation, you share your point of view about the topic of the conversation and you also learn what others say. And I believe writing and reading are a conversation among all those who write and those who read. When you read a text, you are not just reading the information that the text is providing you with but the words of the people who wrote it. You read what they feel, believe, and think about a certain topic. And when you are reading, you start to reflect on and to analyze the thoughts of the writers. Then, you give a response to his or her ideas and thoughts. Your response may either agree or disagree with what they think, but you are responding to them anyway; and that is the moment whent the conversation takes place. This conversation may be something we do not realize at all because we are used to an answer-response conversation, but it does happen when you read and write. And it is the same situation with writing. You communicate your ideas, needs, interests, values, feelings, etc, to others and you might not get a response right after you wrote your article or book, but it will be there, soon or later, when someone else gets to read your text. Whoever gets to read it will respond to your ideas just as you do when you read someone else's article. It is kind of a cycle. And when we read, as Downs and Wardle say, we have to see our sources as people speaking and use verbs such as argues, states, claims, believes, rather than "the book says". If we want to become good readers, we need to start the habit of thinking of the text as people. It may be kind of weird to refer to a book as if it was a person, but it will help us to start our conversation and to understand what the writer is trying to say.

Q&R1

What are the challenges of a writing studies during FYC?

To answer this question we could take many hours and we will be finding more and more, so let's try to do it shortly but precisely.
In life every beginning its hard, such as when you begin to walk or to drive. Writing in a new level of education it’s challenging for some and easy for others. FYC requires that you read, understand and write things at a high level. This is always a challenge for students that are arriving to the new world of college because it is different to what they were in previous years and many have problems with that.
Another reason for the new college student that is having problems with the writing is because they do not have the appropriate resources. The few appropriate resources that the FYC writers have make them be weak at the beginning until they get better by themselves but it is harder in that way. This will let the students produce an imperfect work and that will be affected in their grades. By the way, the student has to get the classes with a very good professor to get better at the writing and the instructors must be knowledgeable about the writing studies.

Would you say that, when it comes to readings, you read them entirely differently than you had in high school? If so, then why do you think this happened?

I think that I do read them differently, mostly because in high school, it did not seem like we were required to understand the text on such a level as we do now in college. In the high school environment, I was not required to interpret and reiterate the ideas of a writing piece as heavily as I now have to do in college. I now find myself reading my assigned pieces of work more carefully and seriously than I had in high school. In high school, I felt like I could just skim through the selections and interpret it with ease, or at least, complete the necessary assignment with the piece. But now, it is as though I delve into the piece, generally not because it is required, but mainly because they also seem more capturing, to me at least. Mainly, in high school, I did not feel so serious when I was required to read a piece, and currently, I take my readings with a higher level of seriousness than before. So yes, I do feel that I read my assigned pieces more thoroughly  than I had previously. The reason being, I was not challenged to my full extent.

Q&R 1

Question:How do readings about writing help students?

When students read about what writing actually is and what it consists of, they are able to understand writing more and they can also learn about new things that they can use in their essays. Also, readings about writing can really help students improve in their writing skills because they are learning new techniques and they will be able to write better papers. Articles or books or any type of reading about writing focuses on certain materials that will help students in their essays. Students have experienced problems about writing throughout their lives and so these readings about writing focus on the issues that many students may have had or do have with writing..Students who struggle with writing can read articles that contain information about the strategies that they need to help them improve. Students also realize that there is more to writing than just writing; there is more to it. They have to learn certain skills that are required to write a good paper. Furthermore, if a student reads about writing and does not understand something, then they are prone to ask a teacher about it. The teacher can then clarify and articulate what they are asking and thus this helps the student more because he is receiving more information about writing and understands better. Also, readings about writing provide examples for their audience. The student can then put those examples into practice and start learning how to improve their writing skills and hence do a better job on their essays. In the beginning of this class, I didn’t really know what English 1301 was about. My expectations were simple; I just expected to write essays on certain topics and materials covered in class. I didn't even consider that there were other things involved with writing that just writing. However, after reading the Downs and Wardle article, I realized that I really had no idea what writing was. This article showed me that there was actually more to writing than simply writing things on a piece of paper. The article explained that in order to improve a student's writing, the student should understand writing itself, rhetoric and literacy. I may have learned this in my previous years of school but just completely forgot about them. So reading about writing really does help a student more by opening their eyes to useful and effective strategies they can use when they write a paper. You get well informed and it refreshes your mind with new information and that helps a student understand what writing is all about and how they can use it in their own essays. A student gains more knowledge with readings about writing because they show many techniques they can use. I myself do not know any "special" techniques that can help me make my essays better but I know that by reading more about writing I will be able to obtain the information I need and the skills to help me improve. As a student I really recommend that other students read articles about writing because they are really helpful. You learn things about writing that you did not know did not know about writing and once you do learn them, they will sooner or later come in handy when you have to write your next essay.

Denise Valdez

Q&R 1

Why First-Year Composition?

At first, when I read “Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions” by Downs and Wardle, I agreed to every word I was reading, but then a question came to my mind. I thought a lot about it until it became in some sort of idea. Why do students have to take first-year composition?

I know that everyone have to take this class, although they have been writing since more less than twelve years, because there is a lot of people that do not know how to “write” and have very bad grammar, and I am one of those people I identify myself with Jack, and this is a way to learn “how to write in college”. People have been learning since elementary school the basics and by the time they graduate from high school they know how to write a good paper, but in so many cases this is not what really happens.

There are some exams for writing as a prerequisite to enter college, but I know that it would be very difficult that everyone know everything and write perfect papers, for example I had to take it twice and did not pass it, then needed to take twice remedial basic writing too. In my case, I do not remember having a writing class in elementary since I studied in Mexico, I just remember learning the grammar rules, but I think that was not enough. When I got to middle school, every month I had to read a book and then by the end of the month write about it, this is the most close I have been to learn how to write but the teacher just said every time “write an essay for this day” and did not tell how to structure it or anything. And in high school I never wrote a paper. Then I came to university and know nothing about how to write a paper or what to talk about in a paper, how to express my opinion, nothing.

I feel exactly like Jack felt about writing, like I said I took twice the THEA and did not pass it, took remedial writing twice and then this is the third time I take FYC. This is the time when I need to realize what Jack did and use all my energy and effort to my papers.

In my opinion, what we all need is practice. I know that if I should practice and read more I could be a better writer, but the laziness always wins me and sometimes I do not care. When I came to college was when I really wished that I had practiced more, so at this point I would not have a lot of trouble writing anything. And I also wish I had put more attention to my English classes, but in that moment I had no idea I was going to study in the United States and would use this language a lot. That is why I do not feel very comfortable writing, but neither talking in English because I do not know the grammar and pronunciation as other students do, so I think this is a disadvantage.

Q: How are the high school teachers writing skill not helpful when it comes to college writing? How does high school writing differ from college writing? How does the FYC help you improve your writing skills and benefit your college writing and your personal view towards writing?

R:When In high school, students are given writing assignments that consist of conducting researches, reading novels, articles, or poem excerpts and writing about them. English and writing courses taught us that writing is done in an outline form. It teaches students to write in a customary format. They plant universal rules that keep students writing in a routine. Yes, the subjects and topics being presented may be different, but the structure of the essay is always the same. The writing usually has the same exact information as the story, poem or topic being provided. The only difference is the words are usually rephrased. High School also teaches us that writing is a very easy subject and that many have the talent naturally, but writing is more complex than that. High School teachers don’t teach you the art of writing or the importance of knowing how to write properly. Students can write numerous amounts of essays in high school, get straight A’s in their English classes, yet not fully understand the art of writing. Not really understand the complexity of writing skills and not see past the common misconception that writing is a simple topic that really isn’t needed throughout life. To be a good writer you don’t have to follow an outline that explains point by point what the topic is about. It’s okay to be a little messy. It’s about expressing you own opinion. Opening up your mind and letting the audience reading your writing see the topic through your eyes. The organization of the work isn’t so important, what matters are the ideas being delivered, the facts and information being presented. That the message is understandable and the point of the essay is clear. Transitioning from high school to college writing is not easy. College writing is not easy. College writing requires looking deeper into the main topic. It requires more personal opinion. It requires more thinking. Writing isn’t only used in English and writing courses in College, writing is used in almost every course you take. It’s very important to be able to write well so your ideas are clear to your professors and the people reading your writing. You have to be able to understand writing far beyond than just thinking of it as reading and rephrasing. The FYC is a course that helps you better understand the nature of writing. It helps students understand the type of writers they are. It opens minds to see that writing is not as simple as many display it to be, but it’s not impossible to learn what you need to know to be a good writer. It teaches students the art of the subject and shows a new way of thinking towards you own writing, but most importantly it teaches students that there is no such thing as a bad writer. This ideology will help you become a better writer and help your voice be better heard on paper.

Q&R

Question: what should teachers teach in English courses ?

Answer: English departments have chosen to teach a certain curriculum which may only focus on few forms studies of writing such as grammar structure and developing a well thought thesis . The truth is that English is a really complex subject which is used everywhere on a daily basis in a student life and if not taught right it can leave a student crippled and in a disadvantage against other students. But the question still stands" what should teacher tech in English courses?" teacher should set a ground principal rule mentioned by James Reither in the article of Downs and Wardle / Teaching about writing "the first of our shared beliefs corresponds with James reither assertion that writing cannot be taught independent of content. meaning that writing cannot be thought to a certain standard form of thoughts. writing should we should be left to the students own free will of thoughts in this way the student has more mind power to manipulate word to his or her own free will. Resisting misconceptions section in the same article mentions that " by teaching the more realistic writing narrative itself , we have a theoretically greater chance of making students better writers then we do by assuming the one two genres we teach them will automatically transfer to other writing situations." Here the article clearly states that teachers have a better chance of success in student s when they organize their thought it a well written paragraph followed by their support of their thought. this would more easily be more transferable to any other situation such a biology report or simply writing a argument paper. therefore I believe that teacher are suppose to teach the importance the free will of thoughts and the importance of writing in the form of realistic writing.

Q&R #1

How can writing be used as a object of study?
Writing has many misconceptions and sometimes are reinforced by educators as well as peers. But through writing, I believe we develop skills that can ultimately benefit us throughout our college career. While people might learn by repeating material or practicing different strategies, I see it easier to apply my knowledge of a topic into a writing. I think writing should be used more as a object of study because it requires the student to interpret readings as what they believe or understand from it, then express their own ideas and opinions, as opposed to being told what the meanings are “supposed” to be and expected to simply repeat what was read in different words.
Writing can be a very useful tool that enables the students to openly express not only their ideas but their beliefs and personal understanding. With this new found knowledge, writing also allows us as students to appreciate the hard work writers or artists put into their pieces. All in all I believe writing can benefit the student greatly in all aspects of a college career, and that’s why I think writing should be used more as a object of study.

Question and Response 1

Question:

Does a student learn better by asking him/herself a question and look for information in order to answer it the most effective way possible?
A student learns better through their own questions and answers because they searchthrough information that can, not only find their answer, but, help them learn things furthermore into their sources. Also, looking for their own answer will increase their interest in knowing more about the information they are attaining, developing the student's capability of learning.

D&W Q&R1

Question: What are D&W saying about it?
It is assumed that writing instruction transfers from genre to genre. They are assuming that if you learn to write it will help you in the future write for different classes, such as reports for biology and different other writing situations. FYC instructors hope that what they teach will follow them into the future, in other situations, when they need to write for their other courses. Teachers do not know whether teaching a certain way will hlep or if teaching another will help them in the future.
Question: Why is this idea important to you?What is your reaction to it? (How do you feel about it?) What other question does this make you think of?
This idea is imporatnt becuase it raises the question that if what you are learning will actually help you in other courses and different genres. We do not know if the writing skills we are being taught will help us write lab reports for chemistry and bioligy or write a thesis for medical school. It is important because there are so many different ways that writing can be taught and different ways to apply those writing skills that FYC teachers could choose from varitey of ways to teach their students. I am surprised because I never thought of it like that. In the article they say that if students are taught how to write biology essays maybe they would be more prepared for biology lab reports. It is astounding to think that maybe if I had learned in English to write essays about certain topics then I probably would be better at writing for different genres and the assignments that they give. This makes me think that if there is a broad spectrum in the ways to teach English that might benefit students, how do teachers come around to picking their teaching style? How do they know that what they are teaching will help us at all in our future studies?

Q&R1

Do you find yourself thinking too much about a research question? When you are writing do questions like “I won’t find enough information,” or “This is a bad question or topic to research,” get in the way of completing your assignments? Did you do this in high school and have adjusted since?

For myself this was a serious problem the first year of high school. After I had completed my first research paper during my sophomore year it became very clear to me that just about every topic had large amounts of information to be exploited. It soon became basic knowledge that if I at least gave my attempts my full concentration that writing about nearly any subject would end with success.

Q & R 1

How do we write in college?
To write in college, a common misconception would be that a student must write a lot to fill in empty space. Down and Wardle have made the idea clear that the idea of an English course is not taken seriously by those who speak mainly English. Introduction to writing studies is important because it changes the understandings about writing, which would change the way we write. The concept starts with the teacher being able to touch the subject. The assumptions about English being universal will discourage many students to write. A student’s own experience and knowledge will reflect who they are as a writer.
I hope that this course will show me how to put my ideas and opinions to any writing assignments that come my way. I want my voice to be heard by my audience to introduce a new way of interpreting what they are reading. There are many different topics to write about which makes it difficult for anyone who may not know how to write. A research paper and an essay are usually thought of as two different types of writing but are in fact very similar. Writing studies will prove to the student that there is a way to write a research paper just as well as an essay with a topic of your choice. If more students were required to read this article, English would not have as many misconceptions. This article will change the way we view the subject, what we believe, which would change the way we teach, with this being said students will change the way they study. It will help any student as a learner.